Teacher Resources

SCHOOL PROGRAMS VIDEO

Live Animal Shows

Our popular LIVE ANIMAL shows are designed for specific grades in connection with the Utah State Core Curriculum. Anyone, regardless of age may request any of the following shows:

• Reptiles (Preschool)
• Animal Babies (Kindergarten)
• Plants and Plant Growth (First Grade)
• Invertebrates (Second Grade)
• Ecosystems (Third Grade)
• Utah Plants and Animals (Fourth Grade)
• Adaptations (Fifth Grade)

New Teacher Materials to supplement our Live Animal shows (to be used in the classroom before or after a musuem visit):

• Reptiles (Preschool)
  
  • Invent a Reptile
  • Lizard Locomotion
• Animal Babies (Kindergarten)
  
  • Animal Babies Story Time
  • Animal Scramble Babies and Adults
  • Baby Relay Race
  • Family Password
  • Fly Swatter Game
  • Insect Dance-Along
  • Super Babies
• Plants and Plant Growth (First Grade)
  
  • Create a Plant
  • Houseplants
  • Plant Hokey Pokey
  • Plant Jeopardy
  • Plant Quiz
• Invertebrates (Second Grade)
  
  • Birds, Bats, and Bugs
  • Butterfly-mobile
  • Insect mouths
  • Insect scavenger hunt
  • Invent an insect
  • Which is an insect?
  • Who lives here?
• Ecosystems (Third Grade)
  
  • Desert Adaptations
  • Desert Communities
  • Ecosystem Scattergories
  • Picky Eaters
  • Rabbit Habitat
  • Strange Cacti
• Utah Plants and Animals (Fourth Grade)
  
  • Utah Bingo
  • Utah Flyswatter Game
  • Who knows Utah Animals?
• Adaptations (Fifth Grade)
  
  • Amazing Mammal Records
  • Canopy Critters
  • Mammal Scramble
    
  • Adaptations Quiz
    
  • Real Animals
  • Nose Knows Game

Visiting the Museum

There are many things to do at the Bean Life Science Museum. Small groups can experience our new exhibits tour with a guide or use their own cell phone (or mp3 player) to hear about our various exhibits. We also have scavenger hunts for different learning levels that can be downloaded from our website. The museum’s live animal shows are easily our most popular activity.

Scheduling (801) 422-5052    
Live animals shows held in the museum must be scheduled at least one week in advance. Groups can choose from the seven different shows we offer (described in the Live Animal Shows section of this brochure). To schedule a live animal show, please call (801) 422-5052 and provide the secretary with the following information:
•    Title of show desired
•    Number of students attending
•    Grade level
•    School and district
•    Contact information (phone, email, address if outreach)
•    2-3 possible dates and times

Outreach shows where we bring a live animal show to your location must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance.  We can only do one outreach per day. If multiple shows, at a single location are scheduled, groups will need to pay for any time in between shows. The cost for an outreach show is $35 for locations within Utah County and $55 for those outside the county. Additional shows scheduled for the same day at the same location are $15 each.

Dates and Times
The Bean Life Science Museum is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.  Shows may not be scheduled on Thursdays at 11 a.m.  During holidays please check the museum website for adjusted hours.

Due to staffing issues, outreach shows cannot be scheduled during the university final exam week.  For the 2009–2010 school year, final exams are scheduled for the weeks of December 11-18 and April 15-24.  

Additional Information
Shows scheduled at the museum are free of charge. Teachers are requested to fill out a feedback form after viewing a show. All shows start at fifteen minutes after the hour and usually last 30-45 minutes. It is important that your group shows up on time. For shows held at the museum, there is a limit of 200 students per group.
Parking is available for buses in the Marriott Center parking lot (north of the museum). Before parking, buses may drop off students in front of the museum (on the south side).

When you arrive at the museum, check in with the museum store employee and they will notify the museum educator of your arrival. They will also direct you to the center atrium or auditorium for your show.

Food is not allowed inside the museum—the museum’s collections are extremely vulnerable to certain kinds of pests.  These pests thrive on small pieces of food; therefore, in order to protect our collections we ask that our patrons do not bring any food into the museum. Groups can eat their lunch on the lawn east of the museum or schedule a room on campus by calling BYU Hospitality (801) 422-2571.

 Bio Boxes (Grades 6-12)

Because of short class periods, science classes in grades 6–12 may not be able to visit the Museum. With that in mind, the education staff of the Bean Life Science Museum has developed the “Bio-box” concept.  Each “Bio-box” will be designed around a specific biology theme from the state science core curriculum.  The “Bio-boxes” will allow us to bring the Museum’s unique and valuable resources to students unable to come to the Museum.

Each “Bio-box” will contain mounted specimens from the museum’s education collection as well as “biofacts.”  Biofacts are biological artifacts, such as animal skin, feathers, eggs, antlers, bones, fruits, seeds, etc. Where applicable, the “Bio-boxes” will also include additional resources, such as field guides or DVDs. The final item in each box will be a teacher’s guide, which will give teachers an overview of the subject, a description of the “Bio-box’s” connection to specific core curriculum concepts, and ideas as to how the contents of the “Bio-box” can be incorporated into their lesson plans.  The materials in each “Bio-box” can be used in a number of ways, whether as the topic of a single lesson or as supplemental material for an entire unit.

Adaptations Bio-box is now available
The adaptations bio-box is now available for teachers to check out and use in their classroom. We are currently working on two more ”Bio-boxes” – ecosystems and classification. You can download the book with lesson and activity ideas HERE.

“Bio-box” Checkout Procedures
•    You can checkout a “Bio-box” by emailing Katy Knight at katy_knight@byu.edu.
•    Bio-boxes may be kept for up to two weeks at a time.
•    Use of the Bio-boxes is free, but there is a $25 refundable security deposit.  For each day the box is late, a $5.00 late fee will be assessed; if any items from the box are damaged or missing all or some portion of the deposit may be forfeited.

 Teacher Guide

We are also publishing a teacher guide for the Museum that will describe the various activities the museum provides for school groups. If you would like to receive a copy of this guide, email Katy Knight with your name, school and school address.

You can also download a copy of the guide here.

 Scavenger Hunts

Before you bring your classes to the museum, you can download and print any of these scavenger hunts.

• Preschool
• Easy
• Medium
• Hard
• Expert
• Birds
• Butterflies

Call (801) 422-5051 and we will email you the answers.